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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · march · cap · hand · wound · stock · rock · net

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. cap — a lid
  4. net — in sport
  5. stock — goods
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. march — the month
  8. cap — a hat
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wound — an injury
  11. net — for catching
  12. march — the month
  13. stock — shares
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. wound — an injury
  16. net — after costs
  17. rock — music
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. hand — help
  20. cap — of ice
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. march — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com